1905 First vehicle registration law enacted by State Legislature: A one-time, $3 fee dedicated to roads.

1911 First annual vehicle license renewal began. Revenue placed in General Fund and dedicated to road building and maintenance.

1913 State Highway Department created by the State Legislature to “bring Oregon out of the mud.” Only 25 miles of paved roads in the entire state.

1919 Oregon enacts nation's first gasoline tax of one cent per gallon. Other states (such as Colorado and New Mexico) soon follow Oregon's lead. $342,000 raised the first year.

1920 First driver licensing law enacted. Five day's driving experience and 25-cent fee required. License was valid for life. Minimum age for a license was 16 years. First DMV branch office opened in Portland.

View full sizeODOTFirst Highway Bond for $1,000 issued in Oregon, Jackson County, 1913.

1921 Gas tax raised from one to two cents by Oregon Legislature.

1922 Driver license fee raised to $1.

1923 Gas tax raised to three cents a gallon by the legislature. Pacific Highway completed. Oregon was first state west of Mississippi to have a paved highway the entire length of the state.

1932 Gasoline tax adopted by Federal Government as a way to raise money for roads, thirteen years after Oregon had adopted this idea.

1933 Flat registration fee of $5 on all private passenger cars established; a weight/mile tax imposed on commercial vehicles, based on loaded weight of vehicle and number of miles traveled per year. Driver license renewal fees raised from fifty cents to $1. Gasoline tax increased from four to five cents per gallon.

1934 Federal government required states to spend at least one percent of federal aid for landscaping and roadside planting work.

1942 Oregon Constitution amended to create the Highway Trust Fund and dedicated road user fees for Highway Department, State Police and State Parks activities only. There was a growing fear that the fund would be raided for purposes not related to the law, especially during wartime. Other states, such as Kansas and Missouri, were the first to pass this type of anti-diversion law

1943 Fees for original renewal driving licenses lowered to $1.25. Cities first shared in the distribution of collected gasoline taxes. Previously, only counties received a portion of the money collected. Cities’ share established at 5 percent.

1947 Counties allocation from the state highway fund increased to 19% by the legislature. City allocation increased to 10 percent. First weight-mile tax instituted based on gross weight and distance traveled.

1949 Gasoline tax raised from five cents to six cents a gallon; registration fee for automobiles increased from $5 to $10 per vehicle.

1963 1,029,943 registered motor vehicles in Oregon, the first time the million mark had been broken.

1967 Gasoline tax raised from six to seven cents a gallon, the first raise in 18 years. County apportionment increased to 20 percent and city apportionment increased to 12 percent.

1979 Title transfer fee increased from $2 to $7; Motorcycle endorsement fees increased to $7. County apportionment of gas tax increased to 20.07% with city apportionment increased to 12.17% to make up for revenue loss due to repeal of fuel tax refunds to counties and cities.

2001–4 Driver license and vehicle registration fees increased to fund the $3 billion Oregon Transportation Investment Act known as the OTIA Program—the largest infrastructure investment in Oregon since right after World War II. Car registration (2-year period) increases to $54. Titles, transfers and duplicate titles each increase to $55. The registration fee for a typical semi-trailer truck weighing 80,000 lbs. increases to $490 and the weight mile tax for the same vehicle increases 10 percent.